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March 31, 2015

A Fire in the Neighborhood Sparks Thoughts of Disaster Preparedness

Keeping these two safe is my number one priority.

On Sunday afternoon as I drove home from the barn where I had a wonderful ride on my good old horse, El Corazon, I saw a white plume of smoke rising over the freeway. As I got closer it became apparent that it was in my neighborhood. After a brief moment of panic I was able to pinpoint the location slightly south of my own home. Very slightly - as it turns out, the fire was only about half a block from me. I went to have a closer look when I took the dogs for a walk - by that time, the fire crews were packing up but there were still crowds of people standing around, a local news station truck, and a fleet of emergency response vehicles.

News of the fire was soon available on Twitter, and more details emerged on the Monday morning news. The fire was caused by an electrical malfunction and four units were damaged. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Photos online showed flames shooting from the roof of the building - I'd been gone for the worst of it, when black smoke was billowing into the sky. The building is nearly identical to mine - six connected two-story units. The trouble with shared walls is that your neighbor's mistake, negligence or misfortune can quickly become your own.

Fire has always been one of my greatest fears. When I was a kid living in the country in southwestern Colorado, our neighbor's teenage son shot a bottle rocket into our parched pasture in the middle of the summer. My mother and I watched as within seconds, fire spread across the dry field to our shed and chicken coop. It was lucky that we didn't yet have horses, but my brave and heroic mother rescued our chickens and rabbits from the burning building. We had some irreplaceable items stored in the shed, but the animals were the priority and my mom risked her own life for them. She was ill from smoke inhalation for weeks afterward, my rabbits had to live in my bedroom, and one of our hens suffered severe burns to her feet. The memory of that terrifying day and its aftermath has been forever etched in my mind, and the neighborhood fire brought it all to the surface again.

I had a hard time getting to sleep last night as I thought about how ill-prepared I am for disaster, even being as risk oriented and safety conscious as I am (fifteen years in the insurance industry will do that to a person). I thought about what I would do if I had to quickly evacuate, or what would happen if there was an emergency when I wasn't home. Although they are both micro-chipped, the Ginger Sisters don't wear collars in the house. They play rough and I've read too many tragic stories about dogs getting tangled up. With Ruby being a flight risk, I often wonder if I'm making the right choice.

I envisioned getting out of the house quickly with all three animals, the logistics of where I keep their leashes, what I would do with them once outside. Putting them in my car and moving my car to safety would seem like the simplest plan. I usually keep at least one slip lead in my car, but this new train of thought has prompted me to keep a couple in the bedroom as well, since that's where we'd be if something happened in the middle of the night. I have one of those stickers on my front window alerting emergency responders that there are pets inside, but I should have one on the back door as well. It's hard to imagine strangers being able to wrangle Ruby, Boca and Nina, especially with no collars on. This scary event too close to home has definitely inspired me to make some changes. The CDC's Disaster Preparedness For Your Pet is a helpful guide.What about you? Do you have a plan for your pets in case of fire, flood or other emergency?

25 comments:

This definitely scares me..I couldn't imagine losing my pets to a natural disaster. For the cats we have kitty crates, I should probably put them in easier accessible spots though (our cats are indoor only and not microchipped or collared...) both dogs are collared but they don't wear them indoors usually mostly because I like to pet their necks and I like them to feel "naked" at home - collars are for going places. We have a sticker on our front door window regarding pets indoors, but I do worry how the dogs would react to stranger trying to get them. Hmmmm... I may need to do more thinking about this.

My cat isn't microchipped either - I have had her for 18 years, adopted before that was standard! I like my dogs naked, too. I do have breakaway collars for them both but don't love the design - I feel like they might come open if you had to grab them quickly.

I have those stickers on the front and back too. I don't make B wear a collar in the house either. I've always done it that way - even with my last two dogs. They were chipped but no collars inside. Although, I did kind of regret that when someone broke into the house and one of them escaped. Thankfully, I found him and it ended well. But still, no one thought to check him for a chip, so if I had not been actively looking for him, I'm not sure I would have gotten him back.

I don't keep a leash in the bedroom, but now you have me rethinking that. I should probably stash one in there and the car as well just in case.

I'm definitely putting some slip leads in the bedroom at least. That's the trouble with chips - a person has to actually think to have them checked and it requires taking them somewhere to be scanned. A break-in is another concern! Oh, my...so much to worry about.

I'm totally with you on this. I am so afraid that my neighbors will make a mistake and that my animals will die in a fire while I'm not home. It terrifies me and I spend a lot of sleepless nights worrying about it, too. :( The girls are the same and don't wear collars in the house, everyone is microchipped but I still worry. Phoenix has already survived one house fire and I'd hate to put her through that trauma again.

I'm glad I'm not the only one whose dogs don't wear collars full-time. One day when Boca was wearing her harness in the house when I was home, she got it stuck on one of my drawer pulls. That's the kind of thing that worries me about collars, as well as the dogs getting their jaws stuck in them during play. I remember now that Phoenix had a fire in her past and why you chose that name for her. I'm really surprised how many commenters have had direct experience with fire or other disaster.

Our apartment building burned down 3 years ago. Thankfully I was home and I had an emergency kit for my cat Sebastian and guinea pig Dottie. That got us through the 2 days we stayed in a hotel. Now I have 4 cats and they each have a carrier, plus the emergency kits have enough food, water, etc. for each of them. We lost everything we had, but I had my pets and that was all that mattered.

Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you and your animals are okay! I'm surprised by the number of commenters that have had firsthand experience with fire or other disaster - it really emphasizes the importance of preparedness.

It probably is a good idea to keep a leash in the bedroom for each dog if they sleep in your bedroom. That way if anything happens at night and you need to make a quick escape, you'll have a better chance of keeping them safe with you.

It's not the most pleasant thing to think about...I definitely lost some sleep over it. I plan to put a "Go Bag" together this weekend and move some leashes to the bedroom. That will make me feel better.

I wonder the same thing when I leave my dogs without collars on. What if someone had to rescue them and they didn't have collars. It's a tough call.

We had a wildfire very close to us a couple of years ago. We got a reverse 911 call to evacuate immediately. I underestimated how much we humans would panic in that situation, and we accidentally let R out the door by himself. He usually has a rock solid recall but the helicopters hovering over our house freaked him out. It took a good 5 minutes to coax him to come to us.

So, my big lesson was seatbelt the dogs in the car first thing so that can never happen again. Then, if there's extra time, we can grab a few other things before fleeing.

What you say about panicking is exactly why I want to have a mental plan in place and things very accessible. We just can't predict how we will respond in an emergency. I had a very scary incident with my young mare just a few days after buying her (she got her leg stuck in a fence) and I could barely operate my phone to call for help I was so upset.

A record setting tornado outbreak here about a year and a half ago made me think about disaster planning. I know that gut wrenching feeling you must have experienced. A few years ago, when I only had my cats, I saw my apartment complex on fire on the news in the employee lounge at work. All I could think of was my girls. Needless to say, I immediately left work. Fortunately it was not my building, but the one catty-corner to it. So scary.

I think about this all the time as well. I have a little prep kit for Rolo in his closet and also like you have a leash in the car. One good thing about our security system is that it texts me and also calls the fire dept or police immediately whether its a; Fire, Glass Break and Carbon Dioxide warnings.

I can also go on my phone to its app and check on temp, if the doors are locked, and webcam.

A thought provoking post. There was an fatal incident not too far from us where the house burned down from sun reflecting off an empty nutella jar left on a window sill onto blinds which caught fire, killing the family dog. Something so simple yet such a disaster as a result. Your post has really made me think about being better prepared (for the dogs sake, not mine).

Disaster preparedness is something I'm working on too, especially living in an apartment complex. Fire definitely scares me since we live on the fourth and top floor of our building. We are making "Go Bags" for us and Luna. It is also important that your apartment complex KNOWS you have a pet. -Jessica from Beagles & Bargains

A real concern, especially if one has multiple pets. I hate electrical storms for this very reason. Not sure what I would do, though, with so many kitties (6). I can grab the dogs (they're always by my side), but the cats would scatter. Makes me short of breath to think about it. :( Hope none of us have to actually use a disaster plan any time soon!

Our home burned to the ground when I was in 2nd grade. Fortunately, though we lost everything, family got out alive. But I've never forgotten the horror of getting off the school bus and seeing my house still smoking and no one in sight. Mom and babies were at a neighbor's! Thanks for the reminder that it's time for me to get prepared for my dog's sake as well as my own.

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